This Podcast Is... Uncalled For - Being a Kitten

Episode Date: September 15, 2025

When you learn about what they do at the entry level of burlesque. From our Fringe episode with Meghan Spencer

So it kind of depends. My path was there's, with Kansas City Burlese, downtown underground, they have a festival every spring that has an audition involved. And so I created an act that I felt was appropriate for their show and then auditioned for that show last year. After the show, the director and I sat down and had a conversation and then she decided to accept me into their company as a specialty performer. So, that's how my path getting into the burlesque company kind of worked. As a general rule in burlesque, you spend time being a kitten before you are a burlesque performer. What being a kitten is, if you've never seen a burlesque show, is that you are responsible for

coming out on stage and picking up all of the clothes that have been removed during the acts. It also is a really good opportunity to work on stage presence, to work on improv. I kitten for some of the shows that I'm not in, because I just think it's fun, and I like hang out with the girls, and I like doing the thing. So you come and be a kitten for a couple of years, it's kind of an understudy, you know, apprentice kind of moment. And our kittens are often kind of stage managers, too. So they often are setting props and making sure everything's going well backstage and things like that as well. So that's pretty common. And I don't know other companies, I know other companies, there's a company out of St. Louis called the Boom Boom Room

that does auditions every September, August, something like that. So it kind of depends upon the company, but most companies, you're going to end up being a kitten for at least a little while before you get to be a full-fledged performer. That's just kind of how the industry works. Nice. It's so, I just want to point out that the cats, what it was, the cat's bag, the cats in the bag. cats in it. I don't know. I don't remember what I said. And I was going to write it down and then I didn't. You said, that's a lot of cats in the bag. And then now you get to be a kitten to start out. I'm liking the tones of this. Yeah. It's a fun. It's a fun and playful place. Yeah. Yes. I like it. I like it a lot. Listen to this and much more on this podcast is Uncalled for. Available now wherever you podcast. Thank you.